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During a short pre-trial hearing Wednesday morning, lawyers on both sides of the case against a man accused of killing a 10-year-old Tyler girl last year addressed the court about progress being made before the case goes to trial.

The hearing in the 241st District Court lasted less than 15 minutes and provided an update of how the capital murder case against Gustavo Zavala-Garcia is coming together.

Zavala-Garcia, 24, who is accused of killing 10-year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco in November 2016.

First Assistant District Attorney April Sikes said the state has provided the defense with almost 4,000 pages and more than 100 gigabytes of digital information as part of the discovery process.

Part of the remaining evidence to be provided is unfinished, she said, and includes forensic tests that are underway. That will be turned over to the defense when it is complete.

"We are working very hard to go through all this discovery," Mrs. Sikes said. "There is a tremendous amount of paper discovery … and then a tremendous amount of digital discovery."

Judge Jack Skeen Jr. concurred saying there is extensive material forensic and otherwise involved in this case, and the main focus of the court right now is to move the case along and keep it on schedule.

Zavala-Garcia was in the courtroom for the hearing. He was escorted into the courtroom by two sheriff's deputies at 8:48 a.m., and during the hearing his interpreter stood behind him, translating the proceedings.

When the hearing concluded, Zavala-Garcia stood and quietly conversed with his attorneys with the help of interpreters.

The hearing is one of six scheduled through September in the capital murder case. The next one is set for July 6.

During the hearings, the court could consider any motions filed by the prosecution or defense.

These could include motions to exclude evidence, for change of venue or notice of intent to plead insanity.

The April pre-trial hearing was waived because the prosecution and the defense said there was no need for one at the time. The state filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty on April 19.

A judge has approved the joint motion to delay the trial for the man accused of killing 10-year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco.

The attorney for Gustavo Zavala-Garcia, 24, who is charged with capital murder, and attorneys for the state filed a motion to delay the case on Thursday. The trial was scheduled to begin August 17.

Friday, Judge Jack Skeen Jr. agreed to the motion to extend the deadline for pre-trial motions to be filed.

According to Zavala-Garcia's attorney, J.Brett Harrison, there are massive amounts of evidence and DNA testing results that are not back that will need to be presented in court. In order to prepare and present meaningful pre-trial motions, the parties requested additional time to review the "voluminous amount of discovery in this case."

Harrison tells KLTV this is not uncommon in capital murder cases and he has known for a while that they were going to file for this joint motion. An exact date of a new trial has not been set.

The murder trial of the suspect accused of the kidnapping and murder of Kayla Gomez-Orozco in Bullard last November has now been delayed.

Attorneys for Gustavo Zavala-Garcia, as well as state attorneys, filed a joint motion to delay the trial Thursday, June 30, which was later approved by Judge Jack Skeen Jr. of the 241st District Court in Tyler on Friday.

According to Zavala-Garcia’s attorney, the motion was filed due to waiting for lab results to be completed so that they can be used as evidence during the trial.

Zavala-Garcia, who was arrested and charged with capital murder in the disappearance and death of Gomez-Orozco, was previously slated to appear in the 241st District court of Judge Jack Skeen Jr. on Thursday, July 6.

SNIP

According to the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, Zavala-Garcia is scheduled to appear in a total of four more pre-trial hearing scheduled for Thursday, July 20, Thursday, Aug. 3, Wednesday, Aug. 16, and Thursday, Sept. 28.

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Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies... By Andy Dufresne/Shawshank Redemption

Trial date postponed for capital murder suspect Gustavo Zavala-Garcia, set for February 2018

Thursday, 6 July 2017 18:56

The trial date for capital murder suspect Gustavo Zavala-Garcia has been postponed.

Zavala-Garcia, 25, is accused of killing 10-year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco in November 2016.

The accused, who was related to Kayla by marriage, was reportedly among the last people to see her before she went missing Nov. 1, 2016, from the foyer of Bullard First Assembly on U.S. Highway 69.

The girl's body was found four days later in a well on the property where Zavala-Garcia lived in the 22100 block of Farm-to-Market Road 2493 (Old Jacksonville Highway) in Bullard.

Judge Jack Skeen Jr. with the 241st District Court said Thursday he would set a potential trial date for February 2018, four months after the originally scheduled trial date of Oct. 2, 2017.

The change comes after attorneys on both sides of the case filed a joint motion for continuance June 29.

In the motion, they cited the massive amount of information to be reviewed and forensic testing to be done as the reason for the request.

There are more than 3,600 pages of paper discovery and 203 gigabytes of electronic information that have been or will be provided to the defense in this case.

In addition, the defense has to obtain and review the analysis of the initial evidence submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety for DNA testing, and not all of that testing has been completed.

Beyond that, there are 172 additional pieces of evidence to be reviewed by both sides with 69 of those items possibly containing biological evidence, which could require testing.

The indictment of Zavala-Garcia reveals the girl was struck with and against a hard, blunt object and could have been sexually assaulted. The document also reveals she was asphyxiated and drowned, although no one has said publicly the specific cause of her death.

First Assistant Criminal District Attorney April Sikes said the earliest the prosecution could be ready for a trial would be seven to eight months from now, and defense attorney J. Brett Harrison agreed.

The next pre-trial hearing is set for Oct. 5 with all other previously scheduled hearings between now and then canceled.

The schedule for jury selection and individual voir dire also will be pushed back now that the trial has been postponed.

The October hearing likely will include an update about the status of discovery and forensic testing.

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Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies... By Andy Dufresne/Shawshank Redemption